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August 13, 2008

As Charges Mount, Caregivers and Supporters Call on Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange to Help Stop Unlawful Intimidation of Workers

by Sam Savage

ORANGE, Calif., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following release is being issued by SEIU United Healthcare Workers - West:

Caregivers who work at St. Joseph Health System and their supporters presented an open letter to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange today, calling on the women religious to help stop the unlawful threats and intimidation of workers who support forming a union.

"Employees shouldn't have to check their constitutional rights at the door when they go to work," said former Santa Ana City Councilman Mike Garcia.

"More than 6,000 residents of Orange County have written postcards to the Sisters asking them to agree to legally enforceable ground rules for a free and fair election. Our communities are behind these employees and we are here to stand with them."

Clergy and community leaders helped deliver the postcards to the door of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange Motherhouse at St. Joseph Hospital.

On July 31, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint charging that 18 managers and supervisors at Mission Hospital engaged in 35 separate instances of intimidating workers and violating federal labor law. The complaints include surveillance, interrogation, physical intimidation and even threats of arrest against workers engaged in legally protected activities. On August 5, the hospital workers filed an additional set of six charges against management involving similar abuses at St. Joseph Hospital, St. Jude Medical Center and Mission Hospital.

With more than 150,000 members, SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West is the fastest-growing healthcare union in the United States. We represent healthcare workers in all job classifications and all healthcare settings, including hospitals, homecare, nursing homes and clinics. Our mission is to achieve high-quality healthcare for all.